You may of had a faulty one, besides the 15” is a new Air, the 15” has better speakers than the 13” version.
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Who is going to buy MBA 15 inch?
- Thread starter StoneJack
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You may of had a faulty one, besides the 15” is a new Air, the 15” has better speakers than the 13” version.
The new Air costs $1499 with 500GB of storage, the 14" sits at $1529 (refurb) with many deals over the past couple months at around $1600 for a new one, and comes with double the memory.
I don't see how the new Air is a good deal even if the base model suffices for the use case. You'd be spending 56% extra over the M1 Air at $749-$799 to go up to 15" and get an extra charging port and 500 nits of brightness instead of 400.
With 250GB the amount of usable free space is about 150GB before syncing any cloud, or storing local iPhone backups, or any user data whatsoever. (Filling up the SSD near 100% breaks MacOS, so 20-30GB have to be left free at the bare minimum to account for swap space with 8GiB of RAM.)
I store everything on the network and only sync some cloud data (35GB) and have a small amount of local photos just synced from a camera's SD card that I'll edit later, and I am sitting at 250GB used (with no swap space required). Even for such very lightweight storage use with hobby photography (which an Air would be perfect for!) the base model would already be problematic for many users.
We are now well on our way towards 2024 and still buy computers with quadruple digits pricing that come with non-upgradeable 250GB of storage, how long are we going to pretend that this is acceptable and worth recommending? I had a 500GB SSD in my Mid 2012 MBP from day one (it came with a HDD I replaced the same day) and that's gonna be 11 years exactly next week.
And that's before going into the poor QC the 13" M2 Air had at launch with the mentioned issues of backlight bleed and generally worse quality (compared to the MBP) of speakers, build (13" M2 Air has quite some keyboard flex) and lack of ports and external display support beyond a single external monitor.
On a 250GB Mac I can't even create a single encrypted local iPhone backup even if I offloaded that to network storage afterwards... and that's a common support question in online forums like this one about how they can't backup their iPhone and want to move the backup location to an external disk and don't want to pay for the extra iCloud storage.
I don't see how the new Air is a good deal even if the base model suffices for the use case. You'd be spending 56% extra over the M1 Air at $749-$799 to go up to 15" and get an extra charging port and 500 nits of brightness instead of 400.
With 250GB the amount of usable free space is about 150GB before syncing any cloud, or storing local iPhone backups, or any user data whatsoever. (Filling up the SSD near 100% breaks MacOS, so 20-30GB have to be left free at the bare minimum to account for swap space with 8GiB of RAM.)
I store everything on the network and only sync some cloud data (35GB) and have a small amount of local photos just synced from a camera's SD card that I'll edit later, and I am sitting at 250GB used (with no swap space required). Even for such very lightweight storage use with hobby photography (which an Air would be perfect for!) the base model would already be problematic for many users.
We are now well on our way towards 2024 and still buy computers with quadruple digits pricing that come with non-upgradeable 250GB of storage, how long are we going to pretend that this is acceptable and worth recommending? I had a 500GB SSD in my Mid 2012 MBP from day one (it came with a HDD I replaced the same day) and that's gonna be 11 years exactly next week.
And that's before going into the poor QC the 13" M2 Air had at launch with the mentioned issues of backlight bleed and generally worse quality (compared to the MBP) of speakers, build (13" M2 Air has quite some keyboard flex) and lack of ports and external display support beyond a single external monitor.
On a 250GB Mac I can't even create a single encrypted local iPhone backup even if I offloaded that to network storage afterwards... and that's a common support question in online forums like this one about how they can't backup their iPhone and want to move the backup location to an external disk and don't want to pay for the extra iCloud storage.
by historical 2nd market data pattern, you see tons and tons of based m1 or m2 mba for sale, but yet only a handful of specced up BTO.
ofcourse it matters, cause specced up option push the msrp into base 14inch territory, hence why OP made this thread cause once you spec up, the price gap difference becomes marginal.
buying a specced up MBA is like buying a optioned out mustang 4 cylinder evoboost, while the 14inch is like the v8 package that already has all the options included with the added benefit of more horsepower and other bells and whistles.
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if thats the case plenty of others have faulty one as well?
my work issued m2 mba also suffer from light bleed in the right bottom corner, maybe its just a coincidence eh? lol
apple has gone with traditional ips lcd again on the 15inch, that panel technology is decades old and suffers from uniformity and light bleed problems regardless if its apple or hp or dell doing it. therefore it's not hard to make a educated guess that the 15inch will also have uniformity and light bleed as well.
I think people are forgetting the 2012 Macbook Prices that also came with 4gb of RAM.
Let’s be honest: Apple is a luxury item producer. It never meant to be cheap brand that is available to anyone. Its going price was well around 1600-2000.
You still get a good laptop from them if you spend 1600-2000. Anything below that is produced to capture more budget savvy market and only possible because they achieved economies of scale.
Porsche. We all know that real Porsche is 911 and Boxster. The thing that they came up with 55-60K cheapo Macans and Cayenne, doesn’t mean that you are getting a true representative of a brand.
This is all said as a thank you for evolution, that people like me can afford cheaper Macs cause i am not spending 1600-2000.
If you’re going to totally spec out the Air then yea the Pro would be a better option. I’ve ordered a 15” MacBook Air, the only thing i have specced out is the Ram (16GB) and 512GB SSD, but if i wanted more specs i would simply look at the Pro. I think the only reason people may spec out the Air instead of getting the Pro is if they absolutely need the lighter machine (the 16“ is heaver).
I currently have the 13” MacBook Pro from 2019, even the screen in the Air will be better than what I’ve currently got (retina vs Liquid Retina). Not to mention the M2 performance and battery life. The only reason I purchased the 15” Air is because i wanted a bigger screen than the 13” version without the power of the Pro.
The people i have spoken too haven’t so far had any issues with their 13” Air, that doesn’t mean there isn’t issues, most people don’t post on forums like these. Since the Air is the best selling Mac, how many people actually have issues vs those that don’t.
I will definitely check my 15” Air when it arrives, if I’m not happy i will have a return window and exchange it for the Pro. I simply didn’t want to buy a Pro and spend more when I don’t need all that power, it would be like buying a sports car and never going over 30mph, something i consider pointless.
I did not forget that, but it wasn't worth mentioning as I switched that out for a 16GiB kit that cost me $72.10 back in 2012, I checked the Amazon purchase history just now.
is this literally my point for months, but yet all the knuckleheads here are saying the MBA is like the greatest thing since sliced bread, again, i totally recommend anyone buying a mba, i'm not against it, hell i have 2 mba myself, but once you breach a certain price point, the value composition no longer make sense consider what else is out there.
enlarge your sample size then, by same argument i can say the people i have spoken to so far had issues with their 13 air.
you be surprised by how many ppl do have issues, apple actually even have a guideline for the geniuses at the store to differentiate at what severity of uniformity and light bleed does it warrant a repair.
$50-100? I wish that were the case!
Here's today's prices at Apple. This for the lowest cost models. They differ in cores — 8/8, 8/10, and 10/16.
13” M2 MBA 16/512 $1499
15” M2 MBA 16/512 $1699
14” M2 MBP 16/512 $1999
So, $200 and $300 jumps. And, a whopping $500 jump from the 13” to the 14”, notwithstanding all the pluses of the 14”.
Even if the difference were only $50, some might choose the MBA for lighter weight (significant for the 13”), longer battery life, little drain during sleep, no fan, and no PWM!
Now we’re comparing laptops to cars lol. Grasping at straws is an understatement. The hoops people will jump through to tell others how to spend their money is quite fascinating.
I’m still not understanding why some are so invested. If someone wants to spec up their Air & can afford it, then how is anyone else affected by that? I ordered a 16/1TB version & the idea of getting a Pro instead wasn’t even a remote thought. The Air exists for a reason.
I’m still not understanding why some are so invested. If someone wants to spec up their Air & can afford it, then how is anyone else affected by that? I ordered a 16/1TB version & the idea of getting a Pro instead wasn’t even a remote thought. The Air exists for a reason.
same as for cars, the base configuration is a best buy.
Once you add options, expensive navigation, etc, it is just no longer the same value.
Same for Macs, if you add storage, RAM, apps, it costs more and more and no longer has same value.
So the best value is the base configuration.
Once you add options, expensive navigation, etc, it is just no longer the same value.
Same for Macs, if you add storage, RAM, apps, it costs more and more and no longer has same value.
So the best value is the base configuration.
except, that is the case?
microcenter
bh
costco
MacBook Pro (14-inch) - Apple M2 Pro Chip with 10-Core CPU and 16-Core GPU, 512GB SSD (2023)
MacBook Pro (14-inch) - Apple M2 Pro Chip with 10-Core CPU and 16-Core GPU, 512GB SSD (2023)
That is a very questionable generalization. I’d say the value is in the eye of the consumer. If it suits my needs in performance & portability, then its value isn’t even in question.
yep, not to mention resale value, just take a look at i9 16inch mbp. a base 16inch cost around 900 on swappa and ebay, meanwhile a i9, 64gb ram, 1tb ssd, sold for not much more at around 1200.
brand new the base 16inch cost like 2500, and the specced up i9 with 64gb ram cost a whopping 4 grand.
I loved my 17" MacBook laptop. It was almost like having a portable iMac!
I'd always get stared at in the coffee shop. I will admit when meeting with clients at those coffee shops they tended to disappear behind the opened screen it was so big!Today just think what it would be like to interview/meet someone in that same coffeeshop environment while wearing the Vision Pro!!!
we're talking about general values that has a effect on potential resale value or trade in, what you are referring to time and time again are personal value. during a trade in apple doesn't care if you specced it, it will treat it as a base model with maybe couple of extra bucks on top, by extra bucks it would be 20-30 cents on the dollar if i'm being generous.
Wow, I didn't know that! Better off selling it privately...though that has it hassles/dangers.
mac trade ins are less talked about, i believe a more familiar concept to alot more folks would probably be iphone trade in, from that you can see apple/verizon/att/tmobile doesn't care if your iphone have 64gb or 256gb, it will give you the same trade in value.
ofcourse apple will give you a tad bit more value if you specced your mac, but as i previously mentioned, its literally pennies on the dollar.
Best Buy, Microcenter and other bigger retailers have deals on the 14" regularly and usually set a lower price than Apple for the base model to begin with. If you are only looking at Apple's own pricing you'll pay a premium for no good reason, most of the time.
I just checked out BestBuy. As with Amazon I'm only seeing 8GB RAM with 512GB as their highest size SSD available for sale. It Apple hanging on to the higher spec MBA Air 15" I wonder??? Or, BestBuy and Amazon think the higher specs/higher priced MBA Air 15" aren't going to sell well?
Nobody sells custom orders except Microcenter(very area based store) and BH. All other retailers stock only the base configurations that you can see/buy from Apple if not adding extras(like ram,ssd,cpu).
If you need higher speck then your only way is Apple, BH, Microcenter.
No, the retailers can order whatever config they want, they just decided to carry only the most common configs that sell to the masses the best. I think this is why: Each Macbook model with the different CPU, RAM and storage options has at least a dozen configs per colour adding up to at least 48 different models for the 15" Air and over a 100 for the Macbook Pros. If Best Buy wanted to offer you a 16GiB model in every color with 250GB/500GB they'd have to keep 16 devices in stock of a single laptop.
Not even Apple stocks up more than 2-3 configs per device, everything else is built-to-order and comes delivered straight from the factory to the customer. Apple doesn't even have a single 16GiB model of the new Air in stock for 24h shipping, it's all '3-5 business days' and has been that way for many years now. You can check Apple stock on their website by looking at your config in the store and if it says the 3-5 it means it's not ready to ship immediately. I buy all my Macbooks that way for the entire family and they have always come straight from China.
can attest to this, when work issued me a base m2 mba, i asked one for 16gb and was told they have to order it and it would take about a week to get it, install MDM, and then get it to me.